Several Lower Mainland residents claim the B.C. government is denying them the care they need to recover from Lyme disease and are flying to California for help.
Jay McQuae says a number of airlines told him his daughter is too sick to fly commercially, so he chartered a $14,000 plane to San Francisco.
"All I'm trying to do is get my daughter treatment," he said.
Marie is currently too ill to do things she once loved. Ironically, it is her love for the outdoors that may have led to her illness.
In 2002, Marie believes she was bitten by a tick while hiking the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island.
She remembers a rash on her lower leg -- the tell tale sign of Lyme disease is a bull's eye rash.
B.C. Health Minister George Abbott says the B.C. Centre for Disease Control concluded that Marie did not have Lyme disease based on "extensive testing."
But tests from California indicate she does indeed have Lyme disease. B.C. New Democratic Party health critic David Cubberley says Marie is just one of 60 patients, who are being ignored by the provincial government.
"They seem to have the perspective that people who believe they have chronic Lyme disease are hypochondriacs or have some other kind of illness," Cubberley said.
"We need to find out why they feel that way, but right now they're the barrier to change."
Peter Von Tiesenhausen says he has had a battery of tests, which had him and another patient flying to California for treatment, thanks in part to Dr. Ernie Murakami.
"I've sent hundreds across the border because I have no choice at this point," he said.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Carrie Stefanson
